Container with sanitary end closure and a method of attaching the end closure



Jan. 12, 1960 H. M. HILL CONTAINER WITH SANITARY END CLOSURE AND A METHOD OF ATTACHING THE END CLOSURE Filed April 16, 1958 fmA 2/ INVENTOR )MMJM United States Fat t CONTAINER WITH SANITARY END CLOSURE AND A METHOD OF ATTACHING THE END CLOSURE Howard M. Hill, Hamilton, Va.

Application April 16, 1958, Serial No. 728,846

2 Claims. (Cl. 229--7) This invention relates to fibre containers for the packaging and delivery of liquids such as milk and the like, and has particular reference to a sanitary container of an improved construction which embodies a top closure having a hingeable protective shield.

The invention constitutes an improvement upon the container disclosed in United States Patent 2,085,979, issued July 6, 1937, to John M. Hothersall.

An object of the instant invention is the provision of a dispensing top closure for a container wherein the area around the dispensing opening is protected against unsanitary conditions.

In the manufacture of containers of the type disclosed in United States Patent 2,321,011, issued June 8, 1943, to H. F. Cox., In, et al., it has been found diificult to attach a hingeable overhanging shield to the container either at the filling plant or at the manufacturing plant.

It is most desirable to attach a hingeable sanitary shield to the container at the manufacturers plant under close manufacturing supervision and using existing machinery.

Such constructions as those shown in United States Patent 2,784,892, issued March 12, 1957, to Joseph I. Feher and in my own United States Patent, 2,784,893, issued March 12, 1957, have been used but these lead to much additional and more complicated machinery with added costly secondary sealing operations.

A further object of my invention is elimination of secondary sealing operations and utilization to the fullest possible extent of existing machinery designs.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a dispensing top closure assembly for a container comprising a top closure disc and an adhesively secured hingeable protective overhanging shield in which the shield is permanently and finally aifixed to the closure disc prior to assembly of the closure disc to the body of the container resulting in a more substantial construction.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention may be apparent as it is better understood from the following description which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofthe upper end of a container embodying the instant invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the upper end of a container body prepared to receive the top closure assembly to produce the container shown in Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the top closure disc and hingeable shield showing how the shield is attached to the top closure disc throughout the length of a diagonal and is hinged to a vertical position at the time of assembly to the container body shown in Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially along a plane indicated by the lines 44 in Fig. 1 with parts broken away;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the top of a container after assembly of the top closure of Fig. 3 to the container body of Fig. 2 and showing end closure retaining flanges in final position;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the assembled top disc and hingeable protective shield;

Figure 7 is a part sectional view through the top closure alone showing the plug expanded.

As a preferred embodiment of the instant invention Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive of the drawings illustrate a container of rectangular cross-section comprising a fibre tubular body 11 closed at its upper end with a flat fibre filling and dispensing top closure 12. The bottom end of the container may be closed in any suitable manner.

The body 11 is preferably formed from a single sheet or blank of fibrous material folded on four scored lines to provide four side walls and having the side edges of the blank over-lapped and adhesively secured together to form a lapped side seam 13 (Fig. 2). The body side walls near their upper ends are formed with an inwardly extending angular wall section 14 (Fig. 4) connecting through a radius 15 to a short outwardly extending peripheral flat horizontal shoulder 16, the outer peripheral edge portion of which extends upwardly and then inwardly as a turned back flange 17 to form a retaining channel 13 for reception and retention of the edge portions of top closure disc 12. Shoulders 16 and flanges 17 are coated on their inner sides with a suitable adhesive 36 (Fig. 2).

The top closure disc 12 is preferably made from a single fibrous sheet having in one corner a circular filling and dispensing opening 35 (Fig. 3).

The top closure disc 12 (Fig. 6) has a hingeable substantially triangular shield of fibrous material adhesively secured to it in a narrow area defined by the hinge line 21), line 23 in spaced parallel relationship to hinge line 21), edge 24, and edge 32. The outline of hingeable triangular shield 19 is defined by edge 23, edge 24, edge 26 coextensive with the hinge line 211, radius 27 connecting edge 26 and edge 28, and curved edge 29 connecting edge 28 with edge 31), and continues along edge 30 through an outline at corner 45 exactly similar but opposite to that described for corner 46.

After adhesively attaching hingeable shield 19 to top closure disc 12 in that area (Fig. 6) defined by diagonal fold line 211, edge 24, edge 23, and edge 32, a pouring and dispensing opening 35 in top disc closure 12 and a round hole in shield 19 for the reception of friction plug 34 are simultaneously punched (Figs. 4 and 6) through hingeable shield 19 and top disc closure 12. Friction plug 34 is then adhesively attached to hingeable triangular shield 19 to complete the top closure assembly (Fig. 3).

In Fig. 2, formed body 11 with lateral shoulders 16 and upwardly extending top disc closure retaining flange members 17 is further prepared to receive top disc closure 12 (Fig. 3) by notching flanges 17 at two corners 37 and 38. These. corners 37 and 38 are preferrably located at the ends of a diagonal situated midway between corners 39 and 411. The notch at corner 37 is defined by edges 41 and 42 extending angularly from the upper limiting edge of top disc closure retaining flange 17 to an apex at the corner intersection of flanges 17 in spaced relationship with shoulder 16; and the notch at corner 38 is defined by edges 43 and 44 extending angularly from the upper limiting edge of top disc closure retaining flange 17 to an apex at the corner intersection of flanges 17 in spaced relationship with shoulder 16.

To complete the final assembly of the top closure 12 carrying triangular hingeable shield 19 and friction plug 34 (Fig. 3) to formed, adhesively coated, and notched body 11 (Fig. 2), triangular hingeable shield 19 is held in the vertical position shown in Fig. 3 while top disc closure 12 is brought down to rest on shoulders 16 and 3 within flanges 17 (Fig. 2). At this time corner 45 of hingeable shield 19 extends through the notch defined by edges 43 and 44; and corner 46 of hingeable shield 19 extends through the notch defined by edges 41 and 42. Flanges 17 are then folded and glued into place while shield 19 remains in a vertical position so that edges 41 and 43 (Fig. 1) are disposed above that part of shield 19 which has been adhesively attached to top disc closure 12;

and edges 42 and 44 are disposed immediately adjacent to the freely hingeable portion of shield 19. Hingeable shield 19 is then brought down to its final position in relation to top disc closure 12 by hingeing about line 20 (Fig. 4).

With hingeable shield 19 in the last above described position those two edges 28 and 30 (Fig. 6) adjacent the filling and dispensing opening 35 and the curved edge 29 are bent downwardly over the container end seam structure along edges 47 (Fig. 1) and are then bent inwardly along edges 48 (Fig. 1) to form inwardly extending member 49 (Fig. 4). Preferably this forming is lightly done at the manufacturing plant so that hingeable shield 19 carrying filling and dispensing opening plug 34 may readily be hinged back at the filling plant for the introduction of a product.

To fill the container (Fig. 1) the hingeable shield 19 is hinged upwardly about its hinge line 20 and in so doing loosely formed inwardly extending portions 49 of the shield 19 are withdrawn from under the end seam structure (Fig. 4), and the shield 19 is brought to a vertical position (Fig. While the shield carrying filling and dispensing plug 34 is in this position a tube is introduced through the filling and dispensing opening 35 and the container is filled through the tube. The tube is then withdrawn; hingeable shield 19 is returned to a horizontal position in close relationship to end seam flanges 17; at which time the bowl shaped portion 50 of filling and dispensing plug 34 enters filling and dispensing opening 35 (Fig. 4). An expanding tool then enters the bowl shaped portion of filling and dispensing plug 34 and expands the bowl of the plug beneath top disc closure 12 (Fig. 7) to seal the filling and dispensing opening. Simultaneously or as a separate operation edges 28, 29, and 30 are firmly crimped into position under the over-hanging portion of the end seam structure (Fig. 4).

To dispense the contents of the container, extension 49 of the hingeable protective shield 19 (Fig. 4) is grasped and forced upwardly, thus loosening its grip on the end seam structure and permitting the corner of the shield 29 (Fig. 6) to be used as a lifting tab to move filling and dispensing plug 34 (Fig. 4) upward, deforming the expanded lower bowl section of plug 34 inwardly, and allowing plug 34 to be withdrawn from filling and dispensing opening 35 in top disc closure 12 (Fig. 7) when the contents of the container may be poured through the filling and dispensing opening 35.

It is thought that the invention and most of its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the form hereinbefore described being a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A container for liquids comprising a tubular fibre body of rectangular cross section and a flat top closure disc of single thickness, said top closure disc having a filling and dispensing opening therein and a substantially triangular protective shield adhesively secured to said top closure disc on a diagonal line in hingeable relationship to said top closure disc, said triangular protective shield overhanging said flat top closure disc on those two edges nearest said filling and dispensing opening, said tubular fibre body having a top closure retaining flange which has notches situated at the two diagonally opposite corners at the two ends of the line defining the hinge location of said triangular protective member, said notches so placed that said overhanging portion of said triangular protective shield extends through said notches at assembly of said top closure disc and triangular shield to said tubular body, and the portion of said triangular shield adhesively attached to said top closure disc and lying within an area defined by the width of said lateral top closure disc retaining flange of the end seam structure and the width of that portion of said triangular protective shield adhesively secured to said top closure disc is disposed beneath the top closure retaining flange of the end seam, and that portion of said protective shield not adhesively attached to said top closure disc is disposed above said top closure retaining flange of the end seam, and a plug fastened to the triangular shield for closing said filling and dispensing opening.

2. A container for liquids comprising a tubular fibre body of rectangular cross section and a flat top closure disc of single thickness, said top closure disc having a filling and dispensing opening therein and a substantially triangular protective shield adhesively secured to said top closure disc on a diagonal line in hingeable relationship to said top closure disc, said triangular protective shield overhanging said flat top closure disc on those two edges nearest said filling and dispensing opening, said tubular body having end seam closure retaining flanges which have notches situated at the two diagonally opposite corners at the two ends of the line defining the hinge location of said triangular protective member, said notches receiving two corners of said triangular shield while in fixed assembly to said top closure disc, said end seam closure retaining flanges folded and adhesively secured over said top closure disc, and secured over and under a continuous triangular protective shield, and a plug fastened to the triangular shield for closing said filling and dispensing opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,609,985 Reid et al Sept. 9, 1952 2,784,893 Hill Mar. 12, 1957 2,784,894 Hill Mar. 12, 1957 

